Affordable housing advocates are celebrating Gov. Kelly Ayotte’s veto last week of a controversial housing bill, HB 1336. The bill would have allowed landlords to require an additional security deposit if they chose to rent to a tenant who didn’t meet the landlord’s standard screening requirements regarding an applicant’s income level, eviction history or credit score.
Many housing and community organizations wrote a letter to Ayotte in June, urging her to veto the bill. Citing a New Hampshire Housing report that showed the median rent for a 2-bedroom apartment in 2024 was roughly $2,000 a month, the groups argued that few lower-income people would be able to afford paying two security deposits and first month’s rent — potentially about $6,000 up front.
“I work with a lot of people that live at the [Portsmouth Cross Roads House] shelter,” Ari Mak said, a Cross Roads House case manager who helps her clients with housing applications. “[They] save a great amount of money and work really hard — 40-plus hours a week — and still can't touch that and live and survive on their own.”
Supporters of the bill argued that a second security deposit would have given landlords an incentive to take a chance on tenants who otherwise would be outright rejected in the application process. It also wouldn’t have allowed landlords to collect the additional deposit from renters who make less than $75,000, a provision that was meant to protect low-income renters.
“[The bill] is aimed at creating more options for housing, for tenants that are what we would call marginally qualified,” said Nick Norman with the Apartment Association of New Hampshire and the New Hampshire Rental Property Owners Association. He worked on the bill and was disappointed by Ayotte’s veto. “It would have greatly helped tenants.”
Jennifer Chisholm, executive director of the NH Coalition to End Homelessness, said she sees the good intentions behind the bill, but she testified against it during the legislative session.
“It's a really difficult housing market and wages just aren't keeping up with expenses. Families are really struggling,” Chisholm said. “It’s just not the right solution or the right time to be implementing this for New Hampshire renters.”
The bill also wouldn’t address what Chisholm said is the real issue around the state — increasing affordable housing stock.
